Leucanthemum plant named ‘Angel’

ABSTRACT

A new and distinct cultivar of Leucanthemum plant named ‘Angel’, characterized by its upright, compact and uniform plant habit; early flowering habit; anemone-type inflorescences; white-colored ray florets and greenish yellow to white-colored disc florets; and good garden performance.

Botanical classification/cultivar designation: Chrysanthemumleucanthemum cultivar Angel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar ofLeucanthemum plant, botanically known as Chrysanthemum leucanthemum andhereinafter referred to by the name ‘Angel’.

The new Leucanthemum is a product of a planned breeding programconducted by the Inventor in Cobbitty, New South Wales, Australia. Theobjective of the breeding program is to create compact Leucanthemumcultivars with anemone-type inflorescences.

The new Leucanthemum originated from a cross-pollination made by theInventor in 1997, in Cobbitty, New South Wales, Australia, of aproprietary selection of Chrysanthemum leucanthemum identified as codenumber Dx97.12.4, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with aproprietary selection of Chrysanthemum leucanthemum identified as codenumber Dx97.12.8, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The newLeucanthemum was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a singleflowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination grownin a controlled environment in Cobbitty, New South Wales, Australia. Theselection of this plant was based on its compact plant habit and anemoneinflorescence form.

Asexual reproduction of the new Leucanthemum by vegetative tip cuttingswas first conducted in Cobbitty, New South Wales, Australia in 1997.Asexual reproduction by cuttings has shown that the unique features ofthis new Leucanthemum are stable and reproduced true to type insuccessive generations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The cultivar Angel has not been observed under all possibleenvironmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat withvariations in environment such as temperature, daylength, and/or lightlevel, without, however, any variance in genotype.

The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined tobe the unique characteristics of ‘Angel’. These characteristics incombination distinguish ‘Angel’ as a new and distinct Leucanthemum:

1. Upright, compact and uniform plant habit.

2. Early flowering habit.

3. Anemone-type inflorescences.

4. White-colored ray florets and greenish yellow to white-colored discflorets.

5. Good garden performance.

Compared to plants of the female parent selection, plants of the newLeucanthemum are more compact and flower earlier. In addition, plants ofthe female parent selection have single-type inflorescences. Compared toplants of the male parent selection, plants of the new Leucanthemum aremore compact. In addition, plants of the male parent selection havesingle-type inflorescences.

Plants of the new Leucanthemum can be compared to plants of theLeucanthemum cultivar Darling Daisy, not patented. In side-by-sidecomparisons conducted by the Inventor in Cobbitty, New South Wales,Australia, plants of the new Leucanthemum differed from plants of thecultivar Darling Daisy in the following characteristics:

1. Plants of the new Leucanthemum had longer leaves than plants of thecultivar Darling Daisy.

2. Plants of the new Leucanthemum had larger inflorescences than plantsof the cultivar Darling Daisy.

3. Plants of the new Leucanthemum had anemone-type inflorescenceswhereas plants of the cultivar Darling Daisy had single-typeinflorescences.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS

The accompanying colored photographs illustrate the overall appearanceof the new Leucanthemum showing the colors as true as it is reasonablypossible to obtain in colored reproductions of this type. Colors in thephotographs may differ from the color values cited in the detailedbotanical description which accurately describe the colors of the newLeucanthemum.

The photograph at the top of the sheet comprises a side perspective viewof a typical flowering plant of ‘Angel’ grown in a container.

The photograph at the bottom of the sheet comprises a close-up view of atypical inflorescence bud, a typical opened inflorescence and the upperand lower surfaces of typical leaves of ‘Angel’.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The aforementioned photographs and following observations andmeasurements describe plants grown in Lompoc, Calif., under commercialpractice during the winter and spring in a polycarbonate-coveredgreenhouse with day temperatures ranging from 18 to 24° C., nighttemperatures ranging from 16 to 18° C. and light levels ranging from4,000 to 8,000 foot-candles. Unrooted cuttings were directly planted in15- cm containers and grown for about 13 weeks.

In the following description, color references are made to The RoyalHorticultural Society Colour Chart, 1995 Edition, except where generalterms of ordinary dictionary significance are used.

Botanical classification: Chrysanthemum leucanthemum cultivar Angel.

Parentage:

Female, or seed, parent.—Proprietary selection of Chrysanthemumleucanthemum identified as code number Dx97.12.4, not patented.

Male, or pollen, parent.—Proprietary selection of Chrysanthemumleucanthemum identified as code number Dx97.12.8, not patented.

Propagation:

Type.—Vegetative tip cuttings.

Time to initiate roots.—About 14 to 18 days.

Time to produce a rooted young plant.—About 21 to 28 days.

Root description.—Fine, fibrous, white in color.

Rooting habit.—Freely branching, dense.

Plant description:

Appearance.—Compact, upright and uniform plant habit. Freely basalbranching with about 14 or 15 lateral branches per plant; vigorousgrowth habit.

Plant height.—About 17 cm.

Plant width.—About 30 cm.

Lateral branches.—Length: About 10 cm. Diameter: About 5 mm. Internodelength: About 1.5 to 2.5 cm. Strength: Strong. Texture: Pubescent.Color: 144B.

Foliage description.—Arrangement: Alternate, simple. Quantity of leavesper lateral stem: About eight. Length: About 12 cm. Width: About 2.2 cm.Shape: Lanceolate to linear. Apex: Acute. Base: Attenuate. Margin:Irregularly dentate. Texture: Upper surface: Pubescent. Lower surface:Glabrous. Venation pattern: Pinnate, arcuate. Color: Young foliage,upper and lower surfaces: 144A. Mature foliage, upper surface: 147A.Mature foliage, lower surface: 147B. Venation, upper surface: 144A.Venation, lower surface: 147C. Petiole: Length: About 6 cm. Diameter:About 6 mm. Texture, upper and lower surfaces: Glabrous. Color, upperand lower surfaces: 144C to 144D.

Inflorescence description:

Appearance.—Anemone-type inflorescence form with elongated oblong-shapedray florets and enlarged disc florets. Inflorescences borne on terminalsabove foliage. Disk and ray florets develop acropetally on a capitulum.Inflorescences persistent. Inflorescences not fragrant. Typically oneterminal inflorescence per lateral branch.

Flowering response.—Under natural conditions, plants flower in thespring. Under greenhouse conditions, plant flower year-round. Earlyflowering, plants begin to flower about ten to eleven weeks afterplanting unrooted cuttings.

Inflorescence longevity.—Inflorescences maintain good color andsubstance for about two weeks on the plant.

Inflorescence bud.—Height: About 1.5 cm. Diameter: About 1.5 cm. Shape:Oblate. Color: 155A.

Inflorescence size.—Diameter: About 8.25 cm. Depth (height): About 1.75cm. Diameter of disc: About 3 cm. Receptacle diameter: About 1.2 cm.Receptacle height: About 5 mm.

Ray florets.—Shape: Elongated-oblong, ligulate with longitudinal ridges.Orientation: Initially upright, then about 90° from vertical and withsubsequent development, recurved. Length: About 3.5 cm. Width: About 7mm. Apex: Emarginate. Base: Acute; short corolla tube. Margin: Entire.Texture, upper and lower surfaces: Smooth, glabrous, satiny. Number ofray florets per inflorescence: About 26 arranged in two whorls. Color:When opening, upper surface: 155A. When opening, lower surface: 155B.Fully opened, upper and lower surfaces: More white than 155D.

Disc florets.—Arrangement: Massed at center of receptacle. Shape:Tubular, enlarged. Apex: Five-pointed. Length: About 8 mm. Width: Atapex, about 4 mm; at base, about 1.5 mm. Number of disc florets perinflorescence: About 250. Color, immature: Apex: 151B. Mid-section andbase: 144C. Color, mature: Apex: 155D. Mid-section and base: 144C.

Phyllaries.—Quantity/arrangement: About 50 in imbricate whorls. Shape:Elliptic. Apex: Acute. Margin: Entire, membranous. Texture, upper andlower surfaces: Smooth, glabrous. Color: Upper surface: 144B. Lowersurface: 144A.

Peduncles.—Length: About 10 cm. Diameter: About 3.5 mm. Strength:Strong. Aspect: Mostly erect. Texture: Pubescent. Color: 147B.

Reproductive organs.—Androecium: Present on disc florets only. Stamenquantity: Five. Anther shape: Oval. Anther length: About 1.5 mm. Anthercolor: 14B. Pollen amount: Scarce. Pollen color: 17A. Gynoecium: Presenton both ray and disc florets. Pistil quantity: One. Pistil length: About5 mm. Stigma shape: Bi-lobed. Stigma color: 154C. Style length: About 3mm. Style color: 150C to 150D. Ovary color: 149D.

Seed/fruit.—Seed and fruit production has not been observed.

Disease/pest resistance: Resistance to pathogens and pests common toLeucanthemums has not been observed on plants grown under commercialgreenhouse conditions.

Weather tolerance: Plants of the new Leucanthemum have been observed tohave good garden performance and have been observed to be tolerant torain and wind and temperatures from −2 to 35° C.

It is claimed:
 1. A new and distinct cultivar of Leucanthemum plantnamed ‘Angel’, as illustrated and described.